everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Brilliant and touching

How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

This is one of those independent movies with some named stars (Ed Helms, John C. Reilly, Anne Heche) that catches on with critics and artsy folks. It's pretty much just a grown-up version of "Superbad", a coming-of-age story (Superbad) with a nerdy, fish-out-of-water guy (Superbad) getting in all sorts of trouble including a party with drugs (Superbad), a fight (Superbad), and a saucy redhead (Superbad), and while Emma Stone is WA-A-A-AY hotter than Anne Heche, Anne looked kinda nice with long reddish hair. But I digress. It was pretty decent with enough funny thrown in. In the special features there was a theatrical trailer, which I found ironic because I didn't believe this movie ever made it to the theaters, but it did (consult this site).

Tim Lippe (Helms) has been living in über-sleepy Brown Valley and still "pre-engaged", while selling insurance to protect other people's dreams. But now he's headed to a "major" metropolis - Cedar Rapids, Iowa - where he must try to save his company at a do-or-die insurance convention…..The movie goes for the cheap and easy laugh but don't delivers. There are some funny scenes in this movie. Overall it's just mediocre, to over the top and not funny at all. There were several parts in the movie that really didn't need to either be in the movie, or made sense.Ed Helms falls in this film violently by the basket. Like the rest of the cast. The only one that remains is Anne Heche. But she can't keep this film out of trash on her own.The movie could have been hilarious, but it certainly wasn't.

Ed Helms' role in The Office was my reason for wanting to see this film, other than that I didn't know a thing about it. So it was a nice surprise to see a pretty nice cast turning up here, especially the enchanting Alia Shawkat and The Wire's Isiah Whitlock Jr., and I could have sworn I saw Jack Nicholson there for a few seconds...The premise of a Wisconsin farm boy (they breed insurance) going to a bigger city for his maiden voyage was promising, but it mainly delivered because of all the fun actors in it, and a few individual scenes were quite funny, like the drug outing with Bree and the pool brouhaha. The script is just barely doable, in particular the way it all lands so nicely on its feet is is just too predictable and dull.Not bad, but could have been so much better.

Of course, there were the usual nice guy gone wild scenes, and stock happy ending, but this ensemble cast pulled it off brilliantly. There were many scenes in which I laughed out loud. I was disappointed in the scant use of Sigourney Weaver, however. Overall, a fun time was had by all who watched it. John C Reilly really made the movie. A true comedic actor. Ann Heche played a believable bored housewife out for her yearly fling. Good to see her again. Ed Helms played the perfect dork with a conscience. Isaiah Whitlock was solid, and I laughed at many of his scenes, but when they had him play a stereotype "black dude", it was kind of predictable, especially the reaction at the party in which everyone was "scared". Still, with all it's flaws I enjoyed it. Definitely re-able.